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What You Want, Not What You Need, Part One
"What You Want, Not What You Need" is the twenty-first issue of the Angel & Faith Season Nine comic book series. Joss Whedon is the Executive Producer. Synopsis (spoilers) The resurrection process for Rupert Giles was being set up at last. Angel, Faith, Spike, and Alasdair are surrounding Giles' dead body, preparing. Angel had apparently managed to retrieve a spell called "The Lazarene Incantation" that would allow them to pull it off, with the help of Alasdair's magical artifact collection that would harness the "ambient mystic energy" necessary for the task. However, the ritual prep was abruptly interrupted before Angel or anyone else can go much further with it. They receive a completely unexpected call from Buffy back at San Francisco. Surprised, Faith immediately answered her cell phone. Buffy explained to her own problems back at home with her sister Dawn, who was dying as she spoke. However, Faith no longer knew who Dawn was and did not know she was Buffy's sister. After a frustrated Buffy abruptly hung up on her, Faith informed the others of her call. Angel was immediately hopeful and eagerly questioned if she was coming to London to help them against Pearl and Nash, only for her to correct his conclusion, saying that Buffy didn't have time to come because she was busy with "some sick girl named Dawn." Spike had a strong emotional reaction to this, shocked at how Faith was acting like she didn't know Buffy's own sister. Impatient and bewildered, he tried to remind her that she did ''know Dawn. She had once briefly found on the same side when the united to take down The First Evil. However, Faith failed to remember her. Even Angel didn't seem to know who Dawn was, confused over Spike's insistence. He irritatedly compared the situation to when he was the only one who knew Ben was Glory many years ago, now realizing that something was terribly wrong. Driven strongly by his loyalty to Dawn and being the only person who knew of her connection to Buffy, Spike immediately left the group with their Giles problem to return back to San Francisco. Following Spike's abrupt and strange departure, Alasdair soon expressed his concerns over resurrecting Giles again to Angel and Faith. He believed it too be too risky for possible failure and shielded his magical artifacts from being used by them for a "selfishly motivated" plan. Angel became impatient and threatened him, scaring Alasdair a little. Angel then took the opportunity to suspiciously point out how strange it was for his magical artifacts to still be in his possession after Whistler, Pearl, and Nash were stealing them out. He accused him of working with the three so he can have his magic back when the end of magic was over. However, this turned out to be a wrong judgement on Angel's part as Alasdair was using a "cloaking" device to hide his magical items from Whistler. Eventually, despite his deep reservations and misgivings over the plan, Alasdair's resolve faltered and he agreed to let him use his artifacts. He too wished to reunite with his friend. Soon after, Angel and Faith have a deep, emotional discussion over what they were planning on doing. Faith sadly stated to Angel that resurrecting Giles won't fix all the tragedies that happened the previous year. The loss of magic would still be around and all the others who died would still be dead. Angel was shown to be sad and guilty at his true claim, but replied "...Giles would be alive". Ready to finally get their plan in full motion, Angel and Faith enlist the aid of Lavinia and Sophronia to help them finish the prepping. After a few more hours, they're finished and start the resurrection spell. Partway through the completion of the incantation, Whistler and his allies suddenly appear. They had sensed the "uncloaking" of Alasdair's collection and were ready to steal the ones they needed. Refusing to have them ruin the resurrection of Giles, Faith and Angel thrown in a vicious, brutal battle with Pearl and Nash. After having some fairly severe wounds, the three of them retreat, just managing to get the necessary items. Angel and Faith successfully managed to by enough time for the archmage and elites, the resurrection spell took affect as Giles' body was struck with magical energy. The true result of whether it was success or not was not seen, but Faith exchanged a glance with Angel, worriedly saying "What did we do?" Continuity The story was set after "Spike and Faith", but before Season 10. *When Spike was trying to refresh Angel and Faith's memories over Buffy's sister and then realized what was the problem, he glibly said in a fit of frustration "Dawn is Buffy's sister." This was a reference to a similar situation in 'The Weight of the World' when the Scooby Gang originally failed to see that Ben and Glory shared the same body and being a supernatural being, Spike could. Similarly, he was equally as annoyed and impatient in both occurrences of repeatedly saying it when they were incapable of seeing it. *Alasdair again asserted his reluctance and deep misgivings of the plan to resurrect Giles, just as he had to Faith much earlier in ''Live Through This, Part Three. '' *The call and exchange between the two slayers was referenced by Buffy in ''The Watcher, labeling Faith afterward as "occupied and self-centered", clearly annoyed. *The impact of Angel and Faith's complete lack of memory of Dawn emphasis how much peril Buffy's sister is actually in, slowly fading away and ceasing to exist. *Nash said to Angel "You would have made yourself a paradise and left us to burn" referring to the events on Twilight. '' Appearances Individuals *Angel *Faith Lehane *Whistler *Pearl *Nash *Alasdair Coames *Spike *Lavinia Fairweather *Sophronia Fairweather *Buffy Summers (mini-crossover; phone call) *Dawn Summers (only mentioned) *The First Evil (only mentioned) *Ben (only mentioned) *Glory (only mentioned) Organizations and Titles Species *Vampire *Slayer *Human *Half-Demon Events Locations *London, England, U.K. *Sunnydale, California, U.S.A (only mentioned) Weapons and Objects * Crown of Coils (only mentioned) * Essuary * Seed of Wonder (only mentioned) * Makstone * Apollo's Brazier Death Count Behind the Scenes Collections *What You Want, Not What You Need'' *''Angel & Faith Season Nine Library Edition, Volume 3'' Pop Culture References * Alasdair said "What do you call it when the assassins accuse the assassin? A lie" a quote from the movie Apocalypse Now(1979). * Faith calls Nash "Bowie" refering to English singer David Bowie (1942-2016) Quotes nl:What You Want, Not What You Need, Deel Eén Category:Angel comics Category:Season Nine